Hydreigon is one of my fav Pokemon, especially to use. It's kinda rough using it in VGC now but I'm a diehard by it. That said, having barely scraped 1500 with this team I feel like there's potential here, but its missing something that I'm missing somewhere. Hopefully some of you more experienced players can help me discern what that is!
Hydreigon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Superpower
The main center in this team! Hydreigon's always inhabited a weird space in any metagame its been a part of, and Gen 8 is no different. I've tried everything thats not Scarf at this point; Nasty Plot, Protect + Life Orb in Tailwind, and now I'm running Specs. Nasty Plot needing setup always left Hydreigon open to attacks, and I felt like it wasn't usually worth the setup either, but the main killer for this Pokemon right now is that Dragapult is basically faster and in some ways more versatile. The Dark and Ghost resist and Hydreigon's better bulk and special attack helps make a case for it but its not a huge advantage over being the fastest threat in the game. At this point I started asking what it is that Hydreigon excels at, and thought "hey why not gear it to best take care of said threats with immediate power?" And so here we are.
Hydreigon smacks most fire types, most commonly Incineroar and Arcanine, as being resistant to both of their STABs is good, though getting worn down by Snarl dropping Sp Atk sucks. Hydreigon EATS the Rotom forms, with only Dynamax usually being the only way to avoid taking massive damage. With the Flamethrower Hydreigon can fry Rillabooms and other Grass Types and Steel Types, while Superpower rounds out the set to deal with Tyranitar (for some reason i kept running into Sand teams with Hydreigon in the back but now with 2 fighting types to smack Tar I'm reconsidering maybe using something else?).
This is the one steadfast thing on this team. No matter what other Pokemon or changes you recommend, Hydreigon stays. Thats it.
Togekiss @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Serene Grace
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Air Slash
- Dazzling Gleam
- Fire Blast
- Protect
I hated Togekiss when I had to play against it (I still do, this team has a major Tog weakness), but I keep one on this team cuz it rounds out most of Hydreigon's bad matchups. Fighting Types? Goodbye. Fairy Types? Thats tough but with Tog its manageable. One of the interesting matchups I've seen are Cinderaces flying in with a Steelspike, only to get smacked with the return Max Flare. Of course, this is also the main thing I use to deal with Pult as well.
Out of all the mons here, Tog is the one that I usually end up bringing and usually end up Dynamaxing. However, opposing Togs and other Fairies have been a major issue on this team, and the only way Tog has worked around them is with brute force. However, when weakness doesn't proc, it can lack the power to smack hard.
Hitmontop (M) @ Iapapa Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Brick Break
- Fake Out
- Wide Guard
- Helping Hand
Top is an interesting pick for the team, originally I ran Bullet Punch to proc weakness on Tog more consistently, but switched it out for Brick Break to break through Aurora Veil. I really wanted an intimidate user to help my mons take more physical hits, and its helped both Tog and Hydreigon take hits. Wide Guard blocks Dazzling Gleam, and Helping Hand and Fake Out are GOATered support options so I slapped em on there. I could probably do something about the stat spread or maybe the item, but Top's lived some really insane stuff, like Airstream from Cinderace, among other things.
Mimikyu @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Disguise
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Trick Room
- Swords Dance
- Play Rough
- Phantom Force
Kyu is here to Trick Room/Counter Trick Room. Another common Dynamaxer, Swords Dance boosts up the damage for real and Play Rough smacks even on a neutral hit. Phantom Force is up for contention, IN Dynamax its great, but outside of it it can be either an opportunity to skip out on an opponents attack, or its a slow burn to a bad finish. But its the hardest hitting move Kyu's got on the Ghost side, so thats why. I run Adamant cuz... Idk honestly lol MORE DAMAGE.
Urshifu-Rapid-Strike-Gmax @ Assault Vest
Ability: Unseen Fist
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Thunder Punch
- Close Combat
- Surging Strikes
- Aqua Jet
Another common Dynamaxer! Before Top was smacking things with a brick to break, Urshifu's CC was the main fighting type that smashed Ttar, and the Surging Strikes also hits Ground types hard. Aqua Jet hits anything faster and Thunder Punch hits Flyers or any Togekiss that think they nice. I don't still know if Urshifu is the best fit for the team but its put in good work so far as the premier physical attacker on this team.
Rotom-Wash @ Aguav Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 52 SpA / 212 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Protect
Tom is the latest addition to this team. Originally there was Amoonguss here to both put Fairy types in check in Trick Room (and spore), but then I switched it out for Copperajah to better counter Fairy types more effectively, but it was so slow outside of TR and gets smacked up by so much without doing enough. Now, I'm trying Tom Wash to hit both Lapras and Tog, with the Nasty Plot as another offensive set up mon. This is the latest addition I haven't tested, but I'm sure Tom will do better against Tog and Lap but not enough against fairies.
The Pokepaste is here: https://pokepast.es/25de6cc04d0e08a3
Please tell me what changes I need to make to this team! I really want Hydreigon to do good, and hopefully this'll be a new team I can make over in Switch!
Thank you for reading!
Hydreigon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Superpower
The main center in this team! Hydreigon's always inhabited a weird space in any metagame its been a part of, and Gen 8 is no different. I've tried everything thats not Scarf at this point; Nasty Plot, Protect + Life Orb in Tailwind, and now I'm running Specs. Nasty Plot needing setup always left Hydreigon open to attacks, and I felt like it wasn't usually worth the setup either, but the main killer for this Pokemon right now is that Dragapult is basically faster and in some ways more versatile. The Dark and Ghost resist and Hydreigon's better bulk and special attack helps make a case for it but its not a huge advantage over being the fastest threat in the game. At this point I started asking what it is that Hydreigon excels at, and thought "hey why not gear it to best take care of said threats with immediate power?" And so here we are.
Hydreigon smacks most fire types, most commonly Incineroar and Arcanine, as being resistant to both of their STABs is good, though getting worn down by Snarl dropping Sp Atk sucks. Hydreigon EATS the Rotom forms, with only Dynamax usually being the only way to avoid taking massive damage. With the Flamethrower Hydreigon can fry Rillabooms and other Grass Types and Steel Types, while Superpower rounds out the set to deal with Tyranitar (for some reason i kept running into Sand teams with Hydreigon in the back but now with 2 fighting types to smack Tar I'm reconsidering maybe using something else?).
This is the one steadfast thing on this team. No matter what other Pokemon or changes you recommend, Hydreigon stays. Thats it.
Togekiss @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Serene Grace
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Air Slash
- Dazzling Gleam
- Fire Blast
- Protect
I hated Togekiss when I had to play against it (I still do, this team has a major Tog weakness), but I keep one on this team cuz it rounds out most of Hydreigon's bad matchups. Fighting Types? Goodbye. Fairy Types? Thats tough but with Tog its manageable. One of the interesting matchups I've seen are Cinderaces flying in with a Steelspike, only to get smacked with the return Max Flare. Of course, this is also the main thing I use to deal with Pult as well.
Out of all the mons here, Tog is the one that I usually end up bringing and usually end up Dynamaxing. However, opposing Togs and other Fairies have been a major issue on this team, and the only way Tog has worked around them is with brute force. However, when weakness doesn't proc, it can lack the power to smack hard.
Hitmontop (M) @ Iapapa Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Brick Break
- Fake Out
- Wide Guard
- Helping Hand
Top is an interesting pick for the team, originally I ran Bullet Punch to proc weakness on Tog more consistently, but switched it out for Brick Break to break through Aurora Veil. I really wanted an intimidate user to help my mons take more physical hits, and its helped both Tog and Hydreigon take hits. Wide Guard blocks Dazzling Gleam, and Helping Hand and Fake Out are GOATered support options so I slapped em on there. I could probably do something about the stat spread or maybe the item, but Top's lived some really insane stuff, like Airstream from Cinderace, among other things.
Mimikyu @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Disguise
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Trick Room
- Swords Dance
- Play Rough
- Phantom Force
Kyu is here to Trick Room/Counter Trick Room. Another common Dynamaxer, Swords Dance boosts up the damage for real and Play Rough smacks even on a neutral hit. Phantom Force is up for contention, IN Dynamax its great, but outside of it it can be either an opportunity to skip out on an opponents attack, or its a slow burn to a bad finish. But its the hardest hitting move Kyu's got on the Ghost side, so thats why. I run Adamant cuz... Idk honestly lol MORE DAMAGE.
Urshifu-Rapid-Strike-Gmax @ Assault Vest
Ability: Unseen Fist
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Thunder Punch
- Close Combat
- Surging Strikes
- Aqua Jet
Another common Dynamaxer! Before Top was smacking things with a brick to break, Urshifu's CC was the main fighting type that smashed Ttar, and the Surging Strikes also hits Ground types hard. Aqua Jet hits anything faster and Thunder Punch hits Flyers or any Togekiss that think they nice. I don't still know if Urshifu is the best fit for the team but its put in good work so far as the premier physical attacker on this team.
Rotom-Wash @ Aguav Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 52 SpA / 212 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Protect
Tom is the latest addition to this team. Originally there was Amoonguss here to both put Fairy types in check in Trick Room (and spore), but then I switched it out for Copperajah to better counter Fairy types more effectively, but it was so slow outside of TR and gets smacked up by so much without doing enough. Now, I'm trying Tom Wash to hit both Lapras and Tog, with the Nasty Plot as another offensive set up mon. This is the latest addition I haven't tested, but I'm sure Tom will do better against Tog and Lap but not enough against fairies.
The Pokepaste is here: https://pokepast.es/25de6cc04d0e08a3
Please tell me what changes I need to make to this team! I really want Hydreigon to do good, and hopefully this'll be a new team I can make over in Switch!
Thank you for reading!
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